Mark Herrema: Career, Newlight Technologies and AirCarbon

When people hear the name Mark Herrema, they may not immediately recognize him as a traditional technology celebrity. However, his work sits at the intersection of business, science, climate technology, and sustainable materials. Herrema is best known as the co-founder and chief executive officer of Newlight Technologies, a company focused on turning greenhouse gases into useful materials. His work has attracted attention because it approaches two major environmental problems from a different direction: reducing dependence on fossil-based plastics while finding productive uses for greenhouse gases.

The technology connected with Mark Herrema is called AirCarbon. In simple terms, Newlight uses microorganisms found in nature to convert air and greenhouse gases into a material called PHB, or polyhydroxybutyrate. The company says this material can be melted and formed into different products, including fibers, sheets, and solid parts. The idea is important because it treats greenhouse gas not only as something that needs to be reduced, but also as a possible raw material for manufacturing.

Who Is Mark Herrema?

Mark Herrema is an American entrepreneur and climate-technology executive who is best known for leading Newlight Technologies. He co-founded the company with Kenton Kimmel in 2003 and has spent much of his professional life developing and commercializing technology designed to convert greenhouse gases into materials. The World Economic Forum describes Herrema as a co-founder and CEO and notes his work in carbon-conversion systems, patents, strategic partnerships, financing, and the engineering and expansion of Newlight’s technology platform.

Herrema’s background is also unusual because his formal university education was not limited to engineering or chemistry. He studied Politics and Political Theory at Princeton University, while also doing additional work in physics, mathematics, and chemistry. That combination of subjects helps explain the broader approach seen in his career. Rather than looking at climate change only as a scientific problem, his work has also focused on markets, manufacturing, business incentives, and how new materials can compete with conventional products. Newlight’s own history says the company spent about ten years developing its technology before reaching a major breakthrough, showing that the story behind Mark Herrema is not simply about one invention but about a long process of research, experimentation, engineering, and commercialization.

Mark Herrema’s Early Life, Education and Career

Mark Herrema’s educational background is one of the more interesting parts of his story because his studies were not limited to one scientific field. He graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Political Theory, graduating magna cum laude with high honors. During his time at Princeton, he also completed additional work in physics, mathematics, and chemistry. This combination gave him exposure to both the way markets and societies work and the scientific principles behind materials and technology.

His interest in environmental problems developed while he was at Princeton. According to an interview with Princeton Alumni Weekly, Herrema became interested in market-based solutions while researching a senior thesis about world hunger. During that research, he came across the problem of carbon emissions and began thinking about whether greenhouse gas could be treated as a resource rather than simply a waste product. That idea eventually became the foundation for Newlight Technologies. One interesting fact is that the company was started between Herrema’s junior and senior years at Princeton, meaning the concept behind his future company began while he was still a university student.

A Key Fact About Mark Herrema’s Career

One of the biggest lessons from Herrema’s early career is that the idea behind Newlight was not immediately turned into a successful commercial product. The company spent roughly a decade researching and developing its technology. Herrema has described major breakthroughs in the conversion process that helped make the technology commercially practical. This long development period shows why climate technology often requires patience: an idea may sound simple when explained to the public, while making it work consistently at industrial scale can require years of scientific and engineering work.

Mark Herrema and Newlight Technologies

Newlight Technologies was co-founded by Mark Herrema and Kenton Kimmel in 2003. The company’s central idea was unusual for the time: instead of making materials primarily from fossil-based feedstocks, the company wanted to use greenhouse gases as a source for producing useful materials. Herrema became the company’s CEO and has been closely involved in its technology development, business strategy, partnerships, financing, engineering, and expansion. The World Economic Forum describes him as being instrumental in developing carbon-conversion systems and materials and in helping lead the company’s production platform.

The company eventually developed AirCarbon, a material based on polyhydroxybutyrate, commonly shortened to PHB. Newlight’s approach uses naturally occurring microorganisms that can consume greenhouse gases and store carbon inside their cells as a material that can later be recovered and processed. Herrema has explained that the company worked to reproduce conditions found in nature in an industrial environment, feeding microorganisms with air and greenhouse gas in a saltwater-based system. The resulting material can then be isolated and processed into different products.

Quick Facts About Mark Herrema and Newlight Technologies

Fact	Information
Company	Newlight Technologies
Co-founder	Mark Herrema
Position	Chief Executive Officer
Founded	2003
Main technology	AirCarbon
Material	PHB
Main concept	Converting greenhouse gases into useful materials
Known applications	Foodware, fashion and other products

An important part of Newlight’s story is the difference between having a laboratory discovery and having a manufacturing process that can operate at a meaningful scale. Herrema has written about working for long hours over many years while the company worked through challenges involving yield, product performance, and scale-up. In one account, he described a major improvement in conversion yield that helped move the technology closer to commercial viability. This is an important part of understanding Mark Herrema’s career, because his role has not simply been about inventing an idea; it has also involved trying to turn that idea into an operating business.

What Is AirCarbon and How Does Mark Herrema’s Technology Work?

AirCarbon is the name associated with Newlight Technologies’ biomaterial technology. At its most basic level, the idea is to use microorganisms that naturally consume greenhouse gases and convert the carbon into a material stored inside their cells. Newlight describes AirCarbon as a type of PHB biomaterial. Because PHB can be processed after it is recovered and purified, the company has explored using it as a substitute for certain conventional plastic materials.

The science becomes easier to understand when you think of the microorganisms as tiny biological factories. Instead of using oil as the starting point for a material, the process provides microorganisms with greenhouse gas and other necessary inputs. The microorganisms grow and produce PHB inside their cells. The material is then separated, purified, and processed into useful forms. According to Princeton Alumni Weekly, Newlight has applied this approach to products for areas including food, fashion, and automotive applications.

How Does AirCarbon Turn Greenhouse Gas Into Material?

The basic process can be understood in four stages:

1. Greenhouse gas is supplied as a carbon source.
2. Microorganisms consume the gas as part of their biological growth process.
3. PHB accumulates inside the microorganisms as an energy-storage material.
4. The PHB is recovered and processed into usable material.

The interesting part is that the concept comes from biology rather than from a completely artificial chemical process. Herrema has explained that Newlight studied microorganisms found in nature, including microorganisms associated with ocean environments, and then worked on reproducing the relevant biological conditions in an industrial setting. This is one reason AirCarbon is often described as a nature-inspired approach to material production.

What Can AirCarbon Be Used For?

The potential applications of AirCarbon are broad because PHB can be processed into different forms. Newlight has discussed applications involving foodware, fashion, and automotive products. Herrema has also described products such as utensils, straws, bowls, and plates, while the company has explored fashion and other material applications.

A particularly interesting part of the technology is that the same basic material platform can potentially be adapted for different product requirements. That matters commercially because replacing petroleum-based plastic is not just about finding one alternative material. Manufacturers need materials with appropriate strength, flexibility, appearance, processing characteristics, cost, and end-of-life properties.

Is AirCarbon Really a Plastic Alternative?

AirCarbon is intended to serve as an alternative to certain conventional plastic materials, but it is important not to treat every type of plastic as identical. Different plastics have different chemical structures and are used for different purposes. Therefore, a sustainable biomaterial still needs to meet the technical requirements of the specific product it is intended to replace.

Interesting fact: Newlight’s technology has been presented not simply as a way to capture carbon, but as a way to connect carbon capture with the manufacturing economy. That is a major part of Mark Herrema’s broader argument: if greenhouse gas can become a useful input for valuable products, businesses may have a financial reason to capture and use it.

Mark Herrema’s Achievements, Patents and Recognition

Mark Herrema has received recognition primarily because of his work developing and commercializing Newlight’s carbon-conversion technology. The World Economic Forum lists him as a Technology Pioneer and describes his work as involving proprietary carbon-conversion systems and materials, patents, strategic partnerships, financing, and the engineering and expansion of Newlight’s greenhouse-gas-to-material platform.

Newlight has also received recognition for its technology. According to historical company and award records, the company received the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2016. Earlier recognition included awards connected with biomaterials and innovation. These awards are significant because they show that the technology attracted attention not only from climate-focused organizations but also from groups interested in chemistry, manufacturing, and commercial innovation.

Why Was Mark Herrema Included in TIME100 Climate?

Mark Herrema was included in TIME100 Climate, where he was identified as CEO and co-founder of Newlight Technologies. TIME described his company’s work as using natural microorganisms to convert greenhouse gases into AirCarbon, a biodegradable polymer intended to provide an alternative to plastic in areas such as fashion and food.

His inclusion is notable because it places his work within a larger group of people working on climate-related business and technology solutions. It also reflects an important shift in how climate innovation is being discussed. The focus is not only on reducing emissions through energy changes but also on developing new materials, manufacturing systems, and commercial models that could change how products are made.

A Useful Fact About Mark Herrema’s Patents

Public profiles have described Herrema as an inventor associated with multiple U.S. and international patents relating to Newlight’s technology. One historical award profile specifically described him as having received ten U.S. and international patents at that point in time. Patent counts can change as patent applications are granted, abandoned, transferred, or added, so older figures should not automatically be treated as a current total.

Mark Herrema’s Net Worth, Age, Personal Life and Public Profile

There is much less reliable public information about Mark Herrema’s personal life than there is about his professional career. His public profiles focus mainly on Newlight Technologies, climate technology, education, patents, and sustainable materials. Reliable sources do not provide a confirmed personal net-worth figure that should be presented as fact. For that reason, online estimates should be treated carefully rather than repeated as if they were official financial records.

The same caution applies to details such as his exact age, private family life, residence, or marital status. Some websites may publish personal details without clearly identifying their sources, but a professional biography is not the same thing as verified personal information. For readers researching Mark Herrema, the strongest information is currently connected to his education, Newlight Technologies, AirCarbon, patents, and public climate-technology work.

What Is Known About Mark Herrema’s Education?

One of the better-documented personal facts is his education. Mark Herrema graduated from Princeton University, where he studied Politics and Political Theory and completed additional work in physics, mathematics, and chemistry. Princeton Alumni Weekly identifies him as Mark Herrema ’04.

This educational combination is worth highlighting because it connects several areas that are usually treated separately. Politics and political theory can help someone understand institutions, incentives, and policy, while scientific subjects provide a foundation for understanding physical and chemical processes. Herrema’s later career brought these areas together through a business focused on climate technology.

Mark Herrema’s Impact on Climate Technology and Sustainable Materials

The most important part of Mark Herrema’s impact is the way he has approached carbon and materials as connected problems. Conventional plastics are commonly associated with fossil-based feedstocks, while greenhouse-gas emissions are treated as an environmental problem. Newlight’s approach attempts to connect those two issues by using greenhouse gas as an input for making materials. In theory, this creates a business model in which capturing carbon is connected to the production of something customers are willing to buy.

This idea does not mean that AirCarbon or any other single technology can solve climate change or plastic pollution by itself. Scaling a new material requires reliable production, competitive pricing, suitable performance, responsible sourcing, and appropriate end-of-life management. However, Herrema’s work is significant because it demonstrates a different way of thinking about climate innovation: instead of asking only how industry can emit less carbon, it asks whether captured carbon can become part of a productive economic system.

What Can We Learn From Mark Herrema’s Career?

There are several useful lessons in the story of Mark Herrema and Newlight Technologies:

• Big technologies can take years to develop. Newlight spent roughly a decade working toward major technical breakthroughs.
• Science alone is not enough. A laboratory discovery must eventually become a reliable and economically practical manufacturing process.
• Different fields can work together. Herrema’s background combined politics, theory, mathematics, physics, and chemistry.
• Climate solutions need commercial value. A technology has a stronger chance of spreading when businesses have a reason to adopt it.
• Materials can be part of climate innovation. Climate technology is not limited to solar panels, batteries, or electric vehicles.

One of the most interesting facts about Herrema’s philosophy comes from his TIME100 Climate response. When asked what the public or companies should do to advance the climate agenda, he identified education as the most important action. He argued that understanding the tangible costs of climate change can help people make more informed decisions.

Mark Herrema and the Future of Sustainable Materials

The future of the technology associated with Mark Herrema will depend on more than scientific promise. Sustainable materials must compete in real markets where manufacturers care about price, performance, supply, processing, durability, and customer demand. They also need credible environmental benefits that can be measured rather than simply described with attractive labels.

That makes the broader story of Mark Herrema, Newlight Technologies, and AirCarbon particularly interesting. It combines biology, materials science, manufacturing, entrepreneurship, and climate policy in one field. Whether technologies like AirCarbon eventually achieve very large-scale adoption will depend on how effectively they can meet those practical challenges, but the underlying idea has already helped bring a different question into the climate conversation: Can greenhouse gas become a useful raw material instead of remaining only a waste product?

Frequently Asked Questions About Mark Herrema

1. Who is Mark Herrema?

Mark Herrema is an American entrepreneur and climate-technology executive best known as the co-founder and CEO of Newlight Technologies. He co-founded the company in 2003 with Kenton Kimmel with the goal of developing materials made using greenhouse gases. Herrema’s work focuses heavily on carbon conversion, biomaterials, and sustainable alternatives to conventional plastics. He studied Politics and Political Theory at Princeton University and also completed additional work in physics, mathematics, and chemistry. His company later developed AirCarbon, a PHB-based biomaterial made using microorganisms that consume greenhouse gases. Herrema has received recognition from organizations including the World Economic Forum and was included in TIME100 Climate for his work in climate technology.

2. What is Mark Herrema known for?

Mark Herrema is primarily known for his work with Newlight Technologies and the development of its AirCarbon technology. His work focuses on using naturally occurring microorganisms to convert greenhouse gases into a useful biomaterial. The resulting PHB material can be processed into different forms and has been explored as an alternative to certain petroleum-based plastics. Herrema is also known for helping move the technology from scientific research toward commercial manufacturing. His career includes work in engineering, business development, partnerships, financing, and intellectual property. He has also received public recognition as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer and was featured in TIME100 Climate.

3. What is AirCarbon?

AirCarbon is a biomaterial developed by Newlight Technologies and associated with Mark Herrema’s work. Its technical material is PHB, or polyhydroxybutyrate. The basic concept involves microorganisms consuming greenhouse gases and storing carbon in the form of PHB inside their cells. That material can then be recovered, purified, and processed into products. Newlight has explored AirCarbon for applications including foodware, fashion, and automotive products. The technology is interesting because it combines carbon capture with material production. Instead of treating greenhouse gas only as something that must be removed from the atmosphere or an industrial process, the approach attempts to use it as a raw material for manufacturing.

4. Where did Mark Herrema study?

Mark Herrema studied at Princeton University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Political Theory. He graduated magna cum laude with high honors and also completed additional academic work in physics, mathematics, and chemistry. His education is an interesting part of his biography because it crosses both social and scientific disciplines. According to Princeton Alumni Weekly, his interest in market-driven solutions developed while he was researching a senior thesis related to world hunger. During that research, he encountered questions about carbon emissions and began considering whether greenhouse gases could be used as resources. That thinking eventually helped lead to the founding of Newlight Technologies.

5. What is Mark Herrema’s net worth?

There is no reliable, widely documented public figure that can be confidently given as Mark Herrema’s personal net worth. Newlight Technologies is a private company, so information about Herrema’s personal ownership, compensation, investments, and financial assets is not publicly available in the same way it might be for the CEO of a publicly traded corporation. Various websites may publish estimated net-worth figures, but those numbers often do not explain how they were calculated or provide enough evidence to verify them. Therefore, it is more accurate to say that his personal net worth is not publicly confirmed rather than presenting an unsupported estimate as fact.

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